The Republic Of Reason
THE REPUBLIC OF REASON The Republic of Reason is a landlocked empire occupying approximately one quarter of the surface area of Urkath, primarily within the massive Petri Basin on the planet’s western hemisphere. Sporting a population approximately two thirds the size of The State, the Republic of Reason has thoroughly urbanized the majority of the Petri Basin into a single city-state commonly referred to as Reasonia, although smaller cities and border outposts exist outside the Basin. (See Exclaves, below.) An atheistic theocracy, or, for our purposes, a scienceocracy, the Republic of Reason is governed by a single High Scientist, selected by the 50-member Council of Scientists on the basis of his education, his contributions to Science!, and how generally reasonable he is. 'ORIGINS' The Republic of Reason came into existence one hell of an amount of time ago thanks largely to the actions of a nomad prophet, Duncan Scien. Scien was one of a number of small tribes inhabiting the Petri Basin for its bountiful natural resources and the protection its surrounding mountains offered from Urkath’s predatory and fearsome Shell Men. In spite of the fact that the Basin offered more than enough fresh water sources, hunting grounds, and arable land to go around, the tribes inhabiting it existed in a constant state of distrust, hatred, and open warfare because of their differing religious beliefs – one tribe pledged full allegience to The Man With A Lightbulb For A Head, another alleged that Bralg rather than Childe was the true son of TMWALFAH, yet another believed that Childe only danced and did not have sex with things… The specifics of the different faiths present in the Petri Basin are not important; what is is that these differences so divided the humans living there that they sought to kill all opposing tribes in hopes of doing their particular god proud. (For what it’s worth, the gods in question couldn’t be bothered to give half a fuck what any of these people believed, as was their way.) The constant warfare was a great impediment to the quality of life in the Basin – the high number of casualties among male warriors of all tribes resulted in insufficient labor to tend crops and hunt steef, resulting in chronic malnutrition which increased infant mortality rates, decreased fertility, and gradually ebbed away at the human population. The constant presence of warfare and destruction precluded the creation of any art or culture outside of religion, and all technical progress among the humans of Urkath lagged far behind the rest of Skaldjr – while The State had reached a level of advancement analogous with the Middle Ages, constant warfare kept Urkath firmly rooted in the Bronze Age, with a limited understanding of how to create fire and a system of writing that was, at best, rudimentary. Duncan Scien was a member of a tribe that believed The Laughing God had created Skaldjr – which, while no more right or wrong than any of the other religions practiced in the Basin, was still a pretty stupid god to worship out of all the available options. Scien was injured in a battle with a particularly angry neighboring tribe who worshipped Hurd. Laid up in bed with a festering spear wound, delirious from fever, Scien was possessed by an idea so powerful and radical that, had he not been dancing back and forth on the far end of lucidity, he wouldn’t have said it at all for fear of being tossed to the Shell Men for heresy. Writhing on the floor of his hut, he began screaming for his fellow tribesmen to come to him, telling them that he had a message of incredible importance. And so, his tribe – or what remained of it after generations of war – gathered around him to hear what he had to say. Scien struggled to sit up, soaking in a pool of his own sweat, and surveyed his amassed friends and family with crazed eyes. His exact words have been lost to time, but historians at the Republic’s History Bureau commonly agree that they went something like this: “Guys. What if all this stuff about gods… Is steefshit?” This had never occurred to Scien’s tribe – or any tribe in the Basin, for that matter. Scien rambled on for as long as he could remain conscious, outlining a radical new theory – that all human life as they knew it was purely the result of blind luck and chance, and that everything that they attributed to the benevolent hand of The Laughing God, such as fire, the sheltering Guardian Mountains, the stars, or the fast flowing Emerald River by which they made their home, had all occurred naturally with no divine interference. What if, he suggested, they as men had created the gods to answer questions they could not answer themselves, and their blatant devotion to these nonexistent imaginary sky-people was the reason for all the strife and warfare they had known for their whole lives. Now, of course, these were the ill-informed ramblings of a feverish man at death’s door, and on top of that just about everything he’d said was patiently false – there were gods, quite a number of them, who were responsible for basically everything they knew. But Scien’s tribesmen, weary from generations of constant combat, figured that the complete invalidation of their faith was a small price to pay if it meant they got to quit getting killed. Having imparted this wisdom, Scien fell back against his bed and lapsed into unconsciousness, his fever rising and threatening to essentially cook his brain in his skull. Scien’s wife and family continued to care for him, while the rest of the tribe quietly dispersed to discuss and consider the radical theory proposed by the dying man. The Man With A Lightbulb For A Head had heard Scien’s speech, as he heard all things, and found the ideas and concepts therein amusing, albeit false. Recognizing that an atheistic tribe would be a suitable balance to the theists in the Basin, he snapped his fingers four times and broke Scien’s fever, cured the infection, and eliminated a kidney stone that he was developing at the time. Scien was shocked when he woke up in the morning and found himself to be not dead and that his wound was now healing quite nicely. Imbued with a new mission in life, he signaled for his wife and children to help him off of his bedroll and, leaning heavily upon them for support, stumbled out of his hut and into the clear light of the morning to find the entire tribe waiting to see what he had to say after his miraculous and unprecedented recovery. Scien looked over the faces of these people who he’d grown up with, faces he’d thought he would never see again. Slowly – painfully – he raised both of his arms. “I am healed!” ''He shouted to his fellow tribesmen. They stared at him with rapt attention, waiting for his next declaration. ''“Do you know why I have been healed?” '' No one dared to speak. Scien drew a deep breath and shouted the next words very clearly. ''“Because my body fought off the infection of its own accord. Because I am so lucky!” '' A murmur ran through the crowd – in spite of his convincing oration the night before, in light of the miraculous recovery this dismissal of the benevolent hand of The Laughing God sounded daring. ''“It may sound unlikely to you.” ''Scien yelled, his voice growing louder as he regained more strength. ''“But I think it’s pretty reasonable!” '' The words echoed through the hills and across valleys. As the words faded, a boy of no more than ten stepped forward from the crowd. ''“Pretty reasonable!” ''He shouted, and then looked over his shoulder at the rest of the tribe. ''“Pretty reasonable!” ''They chorused. It was here that the Republic of Reason began. 'GROWTH INTO A REPUBLIC' Scien’s tribe held him aloft as their new prophet, and, unified by this bold new vision, they began to journey around the Basin bearing no weapons to spread his message: The gods that divided them weren’t real, so what the hell was there to fight about? An entire unarmed tribe strutting around trumpeting heretical ideas would, under most circumstances, have been a strategic slam drunk for another tribe looking to eliminate Scien’s people. But by either divine intervention or what Scien attributed to random good fortune, every other tribe in the Basin was in the process of rebuilding from a particularly devastating battle or raid at that time, and all were amenable to the idea of abandoning their gods in order to quit fighting. One by one, the tribes of the Petri Basin began to throw in their lot with Scien, destroying their idols and joining them in their peaceful and secular missionary action until all the tribes had been united as one with Scien as their leader. If anyone had doubted Scien’s radical views, they quickly forgot about dissent when they realized how much better life was without nonstop warfare. Pooling their resources and customs, Scien’s tribe became greater than the sum of its parts, rapidly advancing and developing as a civilization in the course of his lifetime. Birth rates, food production, and culture grew by leaps and bounds. One facet of life on Urkath that the tribes took for granted was the presence of random scatterings of ruins and ancient technology in isolated areas across the planet, including a few locations within the Petri Basin, that had been left behind in the wake of The Great Fuck Up. When theistic and divided, all of the tribes had stayed well away from this ancient and mystical gadgetry – legends passed down for countless generations warned that these mysterious and inexplicable objects were the property of the gods and were not to be dicked around with under any circumstances. However, once freed from the constraints of their religion, it didn’t take long for Scien and his people to realize that they had nothing to lose by seeking out and investigating this technology, which until then had gone untouched. And so, Scien’s tribe did just that. Scien led several expeditions to the previously forbidden parts of the Basin where these ruins and technology lay. These parties studied these sites and objects extensively, meticulously recording their findings and using their knowledge to greatly advance their own culture far beyond what would have been possible otherwise. It was from this exploration and study that Scien’s tribe discovered steam, which set in motion a period of unchecked technological and cultural growth heretofore unseen in all of Skaldjr. When Scien drew his last breath decades later, he did so in one of many brick houses lining one of Reasonia’s burgeoning network of cobblestone streets, in a room lit by gaslamps, surrounded by friends, family, and admirers wearing clothes sewn up on looms. Free from war and with more than enough resources to go around thanks to steam powered farming equipment, Reasonia’s population exploded and spread throughout the Basin. Institutions of learning sprang up to pass on the knowledge of Reasonia’s forebears and to foster new knowledge and technology for the benefit of future generations. In honor of Duncan Scien and everything he had done for their civilization, those who devoted their lives to following his path of discovery, learning, and creation called themselves Scientists, and soon became the new society’s equivalent of a priesthood and the Institute of Science its church. Likewise, the field of discovery and innovation was named Science! as a tribute to Scien, with the exclamation mark added to show just how much the Reasonists appreciated his revelation that there were no gods. The Laughing God watched this unfold, and he did say, '“Haw haw haw.”' 'THE REPUBLIC OF REASON TODAY' In the 1d100 centuries since Scien’s death, The Republic of Reason has grown to be the single most technologically advanced society in all of Skaldjr. Reasonite technology has plateaued at the Steampunk level, with a hefty helping of pulp science fiction, although new theoretical advancements by Scientists place them on the cusp of Dieselpunk. The entire Petri Basin is heavily urbanized and industrialized, traversed by an extensive light rail system. Steam chariots are the primary form of ground transportation. Airships are common, ranging in size from small personal vessels for the wealthy to gigantic warships and cargo bearing vessels to move freight to outlying colonies. Think of Reasonia as any major European center of science, culture, and trade during the mid-1800s, then add Steampunk, and you’ll have a decent picture of what it’s like. However, the downside to all this technology is that Reasonite demand for lightning-quick progress and innovation means that much of it is hastily assembled and poorly maintained, prone to frequent breakdowns and occasional explosions. Travel by airship is a peril fraught endeavor, and those killed in the relatively commonplace crashes brought on by mechanical malfunctions are said to have given their lives to Science! Essentially, Science! is moving far faster than the Republic’s ability to keep up with it, but nobody is willing to slow down enough to try and improve older technology, preferring instead to rush out new prototypes and cross their fingers that ''this one won’t explode or fall apart. Admittedly, The Republic has strayed rather far from their peaceful beginnings. Countless generations of fundamental adherence to atheism has led the Reasonites to take a dim view of the theistic residents of Skaldjr’s other planets once they discovered their existence. Official Republic policy is that belief in any higher power is an affront to Science! and a hindrance to peace and civilization, which is why they’ve adopted a fairly staunch anti-religion doctrine, under which those found practicing a religion are given a choice between reeducation at the hands of the Institute of Science, or death. To this end, the Republic maintains a robust secret police-cum-Inquisition dedicated to rooting out and eliminating all religious influence on Urkath. (See Republic Police Bureau Theocrime Divison,' ''below.) 'FOREIGN POLICY' From a diplomatic perspective, The Republic of Reason is more or less openly contemptuous of all Skaldjr’s other cultures, deeming their religions ‘backward’ and their use of magic ‘excessively silly.’ Further hostilities are only held at bay by the lack of reliable communication or transport between Urkath and the other planets. Visitors from other planets are more or less tolerated on Urkath, with lesser degrees of tolerance the closer they get to Reasonia. Religious paraphernalia or utterances are a pretty bad idea, though. One of the worst kept secrets in Skaldjr is that the Republic of Reason wants nothing more than to conquer all five planets in order to eliminate all traces of religion and purify the realm. However, nobody is especially worried about that happening any time soon, given the remarkably high failure rate of most of the Republic’s technology. '''MILITARY' The Republic maintains a large and well equipped military, dedicated primarily to patrolling the rugged and lawless areas outside of the Basin for bandits and theists, defending Republic colonies against fearsome Shell Men, and amassing forces and strategies for the eventual conquest of Skaldjr. '''''The Republic Air Force Maintains a sizable fleet of heavily armed airships. Operational duties include protection of Reasonia and outlying colonies, Shell Man observation and elimination, and recruiting new personnel to replace those killed in airship crashes. Army of the Republic '' Engages in ground action against Shell Men and theistic insurgents; utilizes both infantry and an extensive, cumbersome armored cavalry. ''Republic Police Bureau Responsible for investigation of crime and enforcement of laws, as well as rooting out and destroying all traces of religion and magic. Republic Police Bureau Theocrime Division '' Tasked specifically with infiltrating and rooting out anything resembling religion on Urkath, the Theocrime Division operates as a Gestapo-style secret police force largely outside the scrutiny of the greater police bureau. Undercover operations designed to infiltrate pockets of religion and random, violent searches of properties believed to be harboring religious activity are commonplace. ''Armament The Republic’s military and police employ a wide variety of projectile and energy based ordinance, the effectiveness of which is largely determined by how recently it was invented: · Single action pistols/rifles: 6% failure rate · Double action pistols/rifles: 9% failure rate · Automatic pistols/machine guns: 47% failure rate · Energy based weapons: 91% failure rate · Bladed weapons: 4% failure rate Weapon failure statistics courtesy of the Republic Records Bureau '' Failure rates of the Republic’s more advanced weaponry, coupled with the military’s insistence on outfitting the troops with the latest and greatest, are truly what keep the Republic’s imperialistic motives in check – a far less modern army fighting a Republic infantry battalion armed with energy weapons can expect to see the vast majority of their opponents killed by their own weapons exploding in their hands, leaving only a few combatants armed with functional advanced weaponry, which goes a long way to level the playing field. Due to these high failure rates, Republic military units are almost accompanied by a healthy contingent of Scientists to attempt to fix malfunctioning equipment and issue replacements. Larger Republic airships have entire rooms full of spare turrets, and dedicated Scientist crews remove jammed or malfunctioning turrets and install new ones during battle. 'SPACE PROGRAM' The Republic has been trying for years to build an effective space program in order to bypass the tubes as a means of travel to other worlds and cleanse them of religion. So far, this has resulted in several dozen spectacular launchpad explosions and hundreds of Reasonite lives lost in the name of Science! 'OFFICIAL POLICIES '''MAGIC “The Republic of Reason does not recognize the validity of the backwater rituals and hocus-pocus commonly referred to as ‘magic’, ‘magick’, or ‘majick’ by our considerably less civilized and more religious neighbors. The Institute of Science has analyzed all so called ‘evidence’ of the ‘existence’ of ‘magic’ and found it to be baseless and unsubstantiated drivel which is dangerous to the rationale of secular free thought set forth by our lord and savior, Duncan Scien.” – '''Proclamation of the 23912th Scientists’ Council. ''' 'THE TUBES' “While the objects joining Urkath with Skaldjr’s other worlds are translucent and tubelike in nature, careful study has led us to declare them to be naturally occurring, thanks to an interstellar geological phenomenon which Science! has yet to fully understand. We’ll probably have a rational explanation for you pretty soon.” – '''The Republic Institute of Science ''' “Rumors of the so-called ‘tubes’ use for interplanetary travel are baseless and an affront to Science! Reasonians caught attempting to use the tubes will be reeducated or executed. Up to you, really.” – '''The Republic Police Bureau '''